Within a few days, as-Sahab media releases a second English subtitled ibn Ladin tape, this time focusing on events surrounding Somalia. The overall message of his speech is zeroed in on the apostasy of Sheikh Sharif, the president of Somalia, and that dethroning him is the obligation. He summarizes the Ijmaâ on the issue of having an Apostate leader and also quotes Qadhi âIyyadh, رحمه الله.
Shaykh Usamah mentioned that the religion of Sheikh Sharif is no different than the religion of Somaliaâs previous president, âAbdullah Yusuf. A very interesting point he makes is that just like the previous Afghan Jihad leaders such as Rabbani, Sayyaf, and Ahmad Shah Masâoud, Sheikh Sharif turned his heels on the Mujahideen and rushed to help the enemies of Allah against the nascent Islamic State. What leads such people to make such decisions is their love for wealth; and America can supply plenty of it.
He then called the Ummah to give support to their brothers in Somalia, especially with wealth. In my opinion, he slipped in a hidden message - if you will - to the Mujahideen in Somalia regarding what they need to eventually start focusing on. He mentioned that they are surrounded by the Crusader front. His first point was on Darfur. Darfur, as we know it, has attracted a lot of interest from the United States and other Crusader governments and there is a possibility that if they or their allies invade with âpeace-keepingâ forces, then it will become a major threat to the region, not only because of whatâs apparent, but according to Shaykh Usamah, the Haramain is only 300 kilometers away; in other words, this makes it an easy reach for the Scud missiles. He then goes on to mention that in the North, there is the problem of the Yahood and the Crusaders giving them massive support; the South of Lebanon also has this problem. Finally, throughout the East, the armies of the Crusaders are spread throughout the Muslim lands in âIraq, Afghanistan, and the large number of military bases established throughout. Fearing America is only part of the problem; the solution is to only fear Allah.
He ends with a beautiful poem which calls to giving wealth to the Mujahideen in Somalia:
I protect my religion with my wealth, I donât waste it May Allah not bless wealth without religion.